Buffett, Gates Top Forbes List of Wealthiest Americans
Forbes magazine released its list of wealthiest Americans today, with Bill Gates ranked #1 for the fourteenth straight year with a wealth of $59 billion and Warren Buffett in second place with $52 billion. Mr. Buffett, however, has been on the list every year since its inception twenty five years ago ( see article from USA Today ). The overwhelming majority of Mr. Gates’ wealth is from Microsoft, the company he founded and served as Chairman and CEO. On the contrary, Mr. Buffett’s source of wealth is much more diverse. We created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of Warren Buffett's corporate connections to determine what companies he has been involved with both in the past and present.
As we can see from this Knowledge Map, Mr. Buffett has been involved in a wide variety of companies and industries. He has held directorships at various companies including Coca-Cola, railroad company Burlington Northern Santa Fe, US Airways, and The Washington Post. Mr. Buffett is also involved in several financial companies, such as Capital Cities, Berkshire Hathaway, and Citigroup. It is also worth noting that Mr. Buffett holds Chair or Trustee positions in such non-corporate entities as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Urban Institute, and Business Enterprise Trust.
With such a diverse set of connections, it comes as no surprise that Mr. Buffet continues to hold his place on Forbes' list year after year.
Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com
Based on a number of news sources, Microsoft has recently lost its anti-trust appeal which resulted to a $689 million fine and other further limitations. Do you think this would have any affect on Bill Gates' estimated income, and affect next year's Forbes List? It'd be interesting to speculate how well-connected Mr. Gates is, and see if he has other source(s) of income.
Posted by: Lili Turner | September 21, 2007 at 03:14 PM